Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. All of us are noting very closely the political events that are unfolding at Westminster. I note the resignation of the former Foreign Secretary, Mr. Johnson, and former Brexit Secretary, Mr. Davis. I also note that the Prime Minister did not waste too much time in replacing them. Of course, these are internal matters for the UK Government and the Conservative Party. As far as the Irish Government is concerned, the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister. Theresa May is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and when she speaks, she does so on behalf of the UK Government.

I spoke to Prime Minister May by phone for approximately half an hour on Saturday and she briefed me on the statement released from Chequers on Friday. We had a very good conversation. It was an opportunity for her to explain to me what the statement meant and what the next steps will be. She explained that the first of those steps will be the publication of a White Paper later this week. That White Paper will be approximately 100 pages long and will give us a lot more detail than the three-page statement released on Friday. I specifically asked her what will be the process and she explained that the White Paper will have to be approved by the British Cabinet and not just the Department for Exiting the European Union. We look forward to seeing that White Paper. Deputy Darragh O’Brien, a member of the Fianna Fáil Front Bench, suggested at the weekend that we should read that White Paper and consider it in full - in consultation with the task force and the EU 27 - before producing a definitive response to it. That is exactly what I intend to do. Contact is being kept, on a regular and close basis, between Government Buildings and Downing Street. I am in touch with the Prime Minister - we are in contact sherpa to sherpa and chief adviser to chief adviser. The Tánaiste is in close contact with his opposite number, David Lidington, as is, of course, the Minister for Finance with Philip Hammond.

The Chequers statement is welcome. It can have an input to talks in respect of the future relationship, although we would like to see the White Paper first. As already stated, the statement from Chequers is three pages long and the White Paper will be more than 100 pages long. I imagine there will be lot more in 100-page White Paper than there was in the three-page statement. I hope the White Paper will still be published this week. It will give us the opportunity to consider what is proposed in consultation with Michel Barnier, the task force and the EU 27. On the face of what we see, it can have an input to the talks on the future relationship. It is welcome and, as we have always said in the past, if the United Kingdom was able to relax its position regarding some of its red-line issues, then the European Union could also be flexible. Perhaps we are now entering into that space.

To answer the Deputy's question, I have always said that the best option and the best way to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland is through what we have been calling for quite some time, namely, option A, which is the future relationship, rather than option C, which is the backstop. It has always been our view that the best solution is one that would be all-encompassing in nature and that would involve the United Kingdom staying very close to the European Union and, therefore, Ireland and thereby negating the need or even possibility of a hard border on our island. Nonetheless we will still need a backstop. It will not be possible to negotiate the final stages treaty, that is the new treaty between the UK and the EU, by October. At best we will have a political declaration. That treaty will have to be ratified not just by this Parliament but by the parliaments of all the member states of the European Union.

There is a risk that even if we agree a future relationship treaty, any one parliament in the European Union could reject it, which is why the withdrawal agreement must include a backstop and give us that insurance policy. Should we fail to conclude successfully and to our satisfaction a UK-EU final state treaty, we must have a backstop on which to fall back.

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